Self-gripping edge moldings for metal panels and doors and method of manufacture



y 3, 1966 T LOEW ETAL 3,249,485

SELF-GRIFFING EOGE MOLDINGS FOR METAL PANELS AND DOORS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Filed July 21, 1960 2 SheetLsSheet 1 FIG.

May 3, 1966 T. LOEW ETAL 3,249,485

SELF-GRIPPING EDGE MOLDINGS FOR METAL PANELS AND DOORS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Filed July 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS 76 532025 405W C64/F55 35 00;

SELF-GRIPPING EDGE MOLDINGS FOR METAL PANELS AND DOORS AND METHOD OF MANU- FACTURE Theodore Loew, Stamford, Conn, and Charles Brooks,

Forest Hills, N.Y., assignors to The Cee-Bee Manufacturing Co. 1110., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 21, 1960, Ser. No. 44,404 9 Claims. (Cl. 161100) The present invention relates to self-gripping edge moldings for metal panels and doors.

Although not limited thereto, the present invention is particularly described in its application to edge finishes or edge moldings of the self-gripping type for metal panels and metal doors, particularly as used in connection with automotive equipment, although it has broad utilization for furniture edgings, for finishing hoods, doors and various connections, in airplane manufacture, in luggage, in various trims, and in connection with refrigerators, and in general where an airtight closure is desired to be achieved, particularly in connection with a swinging closure, where both the closure and the frame may consist of relatively rigid metal or other structural members subject to expansion and contraction with varying climatic conditions.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved edge molding or heading of the character above described, which will provide an ornamental, as well as a utilitarian edging to a flange or other support member, and which will serve'to form-an air tight connection and convenient edge trim.

A further object is to provide a novel gastight or airtight closure between doors and other swinging members of vehicles, which will be most conveniently and permanently attached to the metal panel of the door or frame and which will exclude air, moisture and weather, with good sealing effect and without disadvantageously afiecting the appearance of the vehicle, and which at the same time will cover the metal edgings and protect them against rust and give them a more sightly appearance.

A further object is to provide a novel, readily attached edging or molding, which may be readily mounted without likelihood of falling off and without the necessity of utilizing special tools, and which may be easily and in- -pensively manufactured, and which, when attached, will remain substantially permanently in position, even though the closure is subjected to considerable banging, rough treatment and opening and closing.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by Way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects, it has been found most satisfactory, according to one embodiment of the present invention, to provide a metal laminated strip, which will carry at one side several layers or applications of a plastic material, desirably having a configuration of surface conformation similar to that of various types of woven or braided textile materials.

At the same time, embodied in the interior of this material will be a metal body which will enable the edging to be readily gripped in position and which desirably consists of a plurality of inwardly directed edge teeth which will engage and firmly lock themselves on to the metal panel or door, as the case may be.

In the preferred form of the invention, the final device consists of a channel-shaped member having an interior metal gripping structure and an exterior, completely cov- United States Patent "ice ering member, capable of being compressed upon and gripped upon a suitable edge or panel, as the case may be.

In the preferred form of the invention, the self-gripping, channel-shaped edge finish or edge molding is formed from thin sheet metal, which may be of steel, to one side of which is applied an acrylonitrile cement.

On the face of the metal which carries the cement there is then applied a sheet of polyvinyl chloride material, which may have been calendered, extruded, or cast, varying from .004 to .02 mil in thickness and preferably about .006 to .012 mil in thickness.

This composite sheet then is slitted alternately with the slits extending through both the polyvinyl chloride sheet as well as the metal sheet.

The transverse metal sheet is then split into strips with edge teeth which are ultimately adapted to be the gripping teeth interiorly of the edges of the channel.

After the teeth have been blanked out on the strips, these strips are then pulled or extended longitudinally so as .to separate them at the slits and so as to form an open-work metal strip on which the plastic sheets havebeen applied;

At the same time that the metal strips are extended,

As a final operation, this composite laminated product.

is folded in the form of a U, so that it will have a U- shaped cross section and so that the teeth will be turned inwardly at right angles. to the side wall in gripping position.

Desirably, the vinyl sheeting should overhang or extend beyond the teeth and between the edges ofthe metal base structure, and the space between the teeth, as well as the space where the metal has been separated, should also be substantially or completely filled with plastic or resinous material. 1

The final product is particularly useful for edge binding or edge covering, or even windlace edgings for automobile hoods and doors and for edges on sheet material suchas carpet, and it even may be covered by fabric or other materials than plastic.

If desired, through the openings in the metal there may be applied rivets or metal fastenings to hold the edge binding in position. If desired, the strip may also be utilized in flat condition before being bent into U or V cross-section, with the teeth being imbedded in the body which is to receive the binding or molding, or two of the strips may be applied back to back.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top elevation view of a sheet of metal forming. the basic structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top perspective view illustrating the application of an extruded, calendered or cast plastic sheet, as of polyvinyl chloride to one side of the metal which has been coated with a suitable cement.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view illustrating the composite metal sheet of FIG. 2 after it has been subjected to offset transverse slitting and is ready to be cut into strips with the edge teeth blanked out.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a strip with edge teeth and with the offset slits formed therein.

FIG. 5 illustrates the strip of FIG. 4 after the metal base has been expanded into an open-work structure, with the teeth shown in the same plane.

FIG. 6 shows the application of a still heavier body of vinyl sheeting or coating to the strip of FIG. 5 and also indicates how the face of the strip maybe ornamented to give a braided, woven or grain leather effect.

FIG; 7 is a fragmentary diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the final edging, as it appears after the edge teeth have been folded inwardly and the vinyl sheet has been applied thereto and extended beyond the teeth.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a sheet of metal 10 which may have a thickness of .03 to .06 inch and which is designed to form a base or skeleton structure of the present invention. This metal sheet 10 is then covered with a thin layer of acrylonitrate cement, as indicated at 11, and on top of this acrylonitrate cement is applied a plastic sheet, such as polyvinyl chloride, as indicated at 12.

The sheet is desirably of a slightly lesser thickness than the metal and it may vary from .004 to .020 mil in thickmess.

The composite sheet 10l2, as indicated at FIG. 3, is then provided with a series of offset slits 13 and 14, which extend from side to side and which are close together and which have a spacing of about to or inch, as desired, between rows, all-of which generally are interrupted against the width of the metal sheet 10 and offset from one another in alternating rows.

The dot and dash lines indicate where the basic sheet metal 10 carrying the surfacing of vinyl plastic 12 will be split into strips with edge teeth, and it will be noted that some of the slits 13 will extend to the edge of each strip, while others 14 will lie in the middle of each strip.

FIG.- 4 shows the result of the transverse slitting and blanking out of the teeth at the edge.

The strip 16, as stated before, will have edge slits 13 and central slits 14 which are offset from one another and extend the entire length of the strip.

Portions of the edges will be cut out so as to form a series of edge teeth 17 between the slits 13 and opposite the central slits 14.

At the same time as the operation indicated in FIG. 4 takes place, the teeth may be bent inwardly, as indicated by the arrow18, so that it will be at right angles to the plane of the strip, although this may take place at a later operation.

In the next operation indicated in FIG. 5, the strip of metal is pulled longitudinally, as indicated at 19, to separate the metal by the slits l3 and 14. This will form the open V recesses 19 along the edges of the strip and will also form the central openings 20 along the middle of the strip.

The openings 20 will be formed where the short slots 14 have been previously formed, while the edge openings 19 will be formed where the edge slits 13 have been previously formed.

After the separation or the expansion of FIG. 5, which leaves an open-work mesh of the strip now indicated by the numeral 21 in FIG. 5, a thick layer of polyvinyl plastic is applied, desirably of the same or equal thickness as the prior layers 10 and 12.

This layer may have its edges 23 extending well beyond the teeth or terminating at the edge of the teeth, and desirably it is so thick that there will be suflicient material to fill in part or all of the recesses 20 in the middle of the stripping, as well as the edge recesses 19 between the teeth 17.

At this stage an embossing roller 24 may be applied to the plastic material 22 carrying the design 25.

The design 25 will either apply a braided face effect, a woven face effect, or a grain face effect to the thick outside layer 22 of plastic, which has been applied to the strip, which strip is designated as 26 in FIG. 6.

In the final operation, the strip is then folded in half to either the V-shape or U-shape cross-section, as indicated in FIG. 7.

It will be noted that in FIG. 7 there is a thick layer of plastic outside material 22 having its edges 23 extending over the metal teeth 17. Desirably, the metal teeth 17 have their spaces between them filled, as indicated at 28, with plastic material, and they are turned inwardly so that they will be at right angles to the, side faces of the crosssection, as indicated by the arrows 29.

The central openings will be left as indicated at 20, even though they may be filled with plastic, so that staples or metal fastenings may be applied if so desired.

This edge binding then may be clamped by means of the teeth 17 upon'an edge flange or edge metal of a door, hood or other swinging member. It may even be applied to the edge of a carpet or to the edge of any other structure which is to be ornamented or covered.

This edge molding will engage by means of the metal teeth 17 permanently in position, and, by applying sufiicient force, the teeth 17 may he forced into recesses which will cause the edge molding 27 of FIG. 7 to be permanently attached.

This edge molding will harmonize by reason of the color and ornamentation of the external layer 22 with the finish on the metal surface or with the entire upholstery, or with the design on the carpet, and there will be sulficient resiliency in the U-shaped or V-shaped bends in FIG. 7 to yield, and at the same time not to be detached, from the mounting structure.

The edging, by reason of the integral tooth structure 17, when applied to a flange or edging, cannot be readily displaced or accidentally removed, and, by reason of its resiliency and themesh work structure resulting from the open-work structure 19 and 20, it may be bent around edges and channels.

Although the basic metal 10 is desirably steel, it may also be formed of strip aluminum, or even of heavy plastie, and, if desired, the laminations may also include fabric or other sheet materials, which may be applied between two layers. of plastic, as indicated at 12 and 22.

Desirably, the teeth 17 may be offset from each other instead of directly opposite each other, as indicated in FIGS. 6 and. 7, so that they will pass each other when they are attached to a structure in which the teeth will penetrate.

In a preferred form of the invention, the teeth may be hardened where the strips are formed separately instead of being cut from a sheet of metal as indicated in FIG. 3. The plastic material is desirably forced into the openlugs 19 and 20 by means of an embossing or ornamenting roller 25.

The multiply material ofFIG. 3 may be slit into strips along the lines 15 before the transverse slits 13 and 14 are applied.

As many changes could be made in the above selfgrippmg edge moldings for metal panels and doors, and many widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departure from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not ina limiting sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. A method of forming a self-gripping edge finish molding for metal panels and doors which comprises forming a laminate composed of sheet metal and a thermoplastic sheet material, slitting and expanding the same and forming edge gripping teeth, applying a thick layer of thermoplastic sheet and forcing it into the openings formed by the expansion and then bending the composite material into U-shaped cross-section.

2. A method of forming a self-gripping edge finish molding for metal panels and doors which comprises forming a laminate composed of sheet metal and a thermoplastic sheet material, slitting and expanding the same and forming edge gripping teeth, applying a thick layer of thermoplastic sheet and forcing it into the openings formed by the expansion and then bending the composite material into U-shaped cross-section, said metal material being steel and said thermoplastic sheet material being polyvinyl chloride.

3. A method of forming a self-gripping edge finish molding for metal panels and doors which comprises forming a laminate composed of sheet metal and a thermoplastic sheet material, slitting and expanding the same and forming edge gripping teeth, applying a thick layer of thermoplastic sheet and forcing it into the openings formed by the expansion and then bending the composite material into U-shaped cross-section, and said gripping teeth being turned inwardly at right angles to the sides of said U-shaped cross-section.

4. A U-cross-section gripping edge finish molding having a basic metal skeleton of expanded channel sheet metal and an 'outer covering of sheet plastic, said basic metal skeleton being formed of an inside base formed of an expanded bent metal strip with central spaced parallel transverse openings and inwardly directed inwardly bent sharp teeth and said molding also having an outside thick cover strip with its edges covering and extending beyond the teeth and covering the openings.

5. A U-cross-section gripping edge finish molding having a basic metal skeleton of expanded channel sheet metal and an outer covering of sheet plastic, said sheet plastic being polyvinyl chloride, said basic metal skeleton being formed of an inside base formed of an expanded bent metal strip with central spaced parallel transverse openings and inwardly directed inwardly bent sharp teeth and said molding also having an outside thick cover strip with its edges covering and extending beyond the teeth and covering the openings.

6. A U-cross-section gripping edge finish molding having a basic metal skeleton of expanded channel sheet metal and an outer covering of sheet plastic, and said sheet plastic filling in expanded structure of the metal sheet, said basic metal skeleton being formed of an inside base formed of an expanded bent metal strip with central spaced parallel transverse openings and inwardly directed inwardly bent sharp teeth and said molding also having an outside thick cover strip with its edges covering and extending beyond the teeth and covering the openings.

7. A self-gripping edge molding for metal panels and doors comprising a U-cross-section laminated strip having an inside base of an expanded bent metal strip with central spaced parallel wedge spaced transverse openings and inwardly directed inwardly bent sharp teeth, a covering on said strip of a plastic cement, a plastic cover for said strip having matching transverse openings and an outside relatively heavy thick cover strip with its edges covering and extending beyond the teeth and covering the transverse openings.

8. A process of making the edge molding of claim 7, comprising making a laminated metal element composed of a base layer of a sheet of metal, a thin layer of cement thereupon and a plastic sheet cemented to the strip all of the same Width, cutting a plurality of short offset slits into the laminated element, cutting the laminated element into strips, cutting teeth in the edges of the laminate strip, expanding the laminate strip to form central transverse sharp end openings, covering the expanded strip with a thick protective plastic protective covering layer and then folding the strip into U-cross section and bending the teeth inwardly with the covering layer on the outside.

9. A self-gripping edge molding for metal panels and doors comprising a channel-shaped laminated strip having an inside base of an expanded metal strip with central transverse openings and inwardly bent sharp teeth, a plastic covering on said strip and an outside relatively thick heavy cover strip with its edges covering and extending beyond the teeth and covering the openings. 1

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,427,513 9/ 1947 Spessard. 2,446,516 8/1948 Bailey 154-84 2,954,310 9/1960 Truesdell et al 20-74 FOREIGN PATENTS 779,868 7/ 1957 Great Britain.

EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

CARL F. KRAFFT, Examiner. 

5. A U-CROSS-SECTON GRIPPING EDGE FINISH MOLDING HAVING A BASIC METAL SKELETON OF EXPANDED CHANNEL SHEET METAL AND AN OUTER COVERING OF SHEET PLASTIC,SAID SHEET PLASTIC BEING POLYVINYL CHLORIDE, SAID BASIC METAL SKELETON BEING FORMED OF AN INSIDE BASE FORMED OF AN EXPANDED BENT METAL STRIP WITH CENTRAL SPACED PARALLEL TRANVERSE OPENINGS AND INWARDLY DIRECTED INWARDLY BENT SHARP TEETH AND SAID MOLDING ALSO HAVING AN OUTSIDE THICK COVER STRIP WITH ITS EDGES COVERING AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE TEETH AND COVERING THE OPENINGS. 